Virgin Voyages Unveils Rovey AI Assistant for Cruise Planning

Virgin Voyages has unveiled Rovey, its first external-facing AI assistant. The tool is set to come to VirginVoyages.com to help travelers plan cruises, receive itinerary recommendations and answer trip logistics questions. The Florida-based cruise line introduced the assistant this week at a Google Cloud developer conference in Las Vegas as the first release from Project Ruby, an AI platform co-developed with Google Cloud.

The launch gives Virgin a customer-facing AI application aimed at both guest service and sales conversion. CEO Nirmal Saverimuttu said Virgin typically takes six to eight weeks to convert a first-time cruise customer and hopes Rovey can reduce that window to two to three weeks.

Rovey targets booking and pre-cruise planning

Rovey will make recommendations tied to a traveler’s style, pace and interests, including shore activities, cabin categories, dining options and packing guidance. The tool is designed for the portion of the trip before guests board, where new-to-cruise travelers may be weighing itineraries, restaurants, entertainment reservations and shore excursions.

“We have to use AI to effectively expedite that process,” said Nathan Rosenberg, Virgin Voyages’ chief brand experience, marketing and momentum officer. Rosenberg said he will track Rovey’s satisfaction scores and its effect on guests’ likelihood to recommend Virgin to family and friends.

Rosenberg tied the tool to Virgin’s onboard service. “Rovey brings that same energy to the part of the trip that happens before Sailors cross the gangway,” he said.

For Virgin’s four-ship fleet of Scarlet Lady, Valiant Lady, Resilient Lady and Brilliant Lady, the assistant is being introduced as a brandwide planning tool.

Project Ruby puts marketing at the center of the rollout

Rovey is the first of seven planned applications under Project Ruby, according to Virgin. The assistant was built with Google Cloud’s Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, Gemini models and BigQuery.

The use case came out of a small group of “AI champions,” a cross-functional team examining crew and sales workflows and where AI could be applied.

“The front door to AI for us is our growth and marketing teams,” Saverimuttu said.

Virgin also expects Rovey to affect shipboard and customer-service workloads by handling questions that would otherwise go to crew members.

Billy Bohan Chinique, Virgin’s vice president of global brand marketing and AI transformation, said planning with Rovey should feel “like being looked after by someone who genuinely gets it.”

Launch timing remains limited

Virgin said Rovey is coming soon to VirginVoyages.com, but did not provide a specific public launch date. The company also has not named the next Project Ruby release or set timing for the remaining six applications.